It was raining cats and dogs yesterday just as I was about to leave office to go hiking at Botanical Garden. The same thing happened last weekend. The only thing different this time around was that I didn’t have to walk up and down the stairs case at my apartment, from the ground floor to 10th floor, for 10 times. The act may seem to be insane, but was actually to keep my sanity intact. I need to get the endorphin shot. So, MH got this for me, before I need to check myself into the mental asylum.

I really envy the young boy in The Alchemist, not because he found his treasure of Spanish gold coins, but because his path crossed with wise sages, the king and the alchemist. How many of us will have the privilege to encounter someone wise, let alone to learn from the guru? My wildest dream is to be able to meet that someone whose words can blow my mind away, someone who is blessed with the most precious gift from God; the wisdom. Maybe someone as wise as Morgan Scott Peck or William Barclay? Perhaps then, I'll find the answer to the age old questions like Who am I? What should I be doing? Where am I going? What is happiness?

Anyway, here's a little toast to the year to come. I hope I'll grow a little bit wiser everyday. :)

Let me just summarized the Taiwan trip, so that people will stop asking me how it was. :) Due to my very short memory span, it's good to blog early too. Went to Taipei because MH had a business trip there. I love to tag along during his business trip because I'll get to stay in luxury hotel, 5 stars at least.

The flight tickets were confirmed very last minute, on Friday night and scheduled to fly off on Wednesday morning. Luckily my kind boss let me go despite the crunch period at work. I sms-ed him on Friday 10pm to ask for permission, while he was on his flight back to Singapore for the weekend. He replied "ok, but make sure viaROM done static timing analysis and documentation and DDR done documentation before on leave". And that's on top of preparing bRAM's 5 hours design review on Tuesday!

Fast forward, Taiwan is okay, nothing impressive, except for the girls. They are so pretty! If you have watched the Taiwan talkshow "Guess, Guess, Guess" on TV every Sunday night (MH's favorite TV show) and wondered where do all the pretty girls came from, well, they're all over the streets. Throw a stone, you can hit someone prettier than S.H.E and Jolin. No kidding!. Nevertheless, I still adore the classy and sporty Singapore girls more. Taiwanese girls are too "ka-wa-ii" in both their fashion and speech for my liking.

The next interesting thing would be the snack over there. Aplenty! To try 'em all, I snacked throughout the day. Some nice, some so-so, but all super oily. Will blog more with photos next time.

It's good to be back before I permanently damage my liver and my leg. So fatigue that we haven't even unwrap our Christmas presents yet. I walked way too much over there, shopping and sight seeing, by taking MRT (called Metro) while MH was working. MH was very tired too, from over simulating his brain, not from his work, but from the galore of stunning and breathtaking visual pleasure. ;>

Here's the itinerary of the trip:

Wed (19/12)
- Flight there PNG-SIN-TWN, with 5 hours transit in Changi Airport
- I shopped at Bugis, MH shopped at SimLim Square
- reached Taipei ~ midnight

Thur (20/12)
- Keelung Harbor
- Yeliou ( Queen’s Head Rock)
- Yangmingshan National Park
- Beitou Hot Spring Bath
- Jioufen

Fri (21/12)
- National Palace Museum
- Taipei 101
- Ximending
- Camera street & Taipei Main Station
- Shinlin night market

Sat (22/12)
- Shanxi park
- Wufengpu wholesale market
- Dansui
- Fisherman's wharf

Sun (23/12)
- Took 3 hours train to Taroko Gorge National Park (Eternal Spring Shrine, Swallow Grotto, Tunnel of Nine Turns)
- Chi Hsing Beach
- Howard skyline restaurant @ Shinkong life tower

Mon (24/12)
- shopping @ SOGO, Eslite Xinyi, Singkong Mitsukoshi, Mingyao, Breeze Center, East Metro Mall
- Sun Yat Sen Memorial Hall
- Lungshan Temple
- Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall
- Hwahsi Street Tourist Night Market
- Ximending
- Christmas eve mass at John Bosco Church

Tues (25/12)
- Flight back TWN-SIN-PNG